BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Baylor Reaches Top With Rockies

By MURRAY CHASS

Published: October 28, 1992

Don Baylor became the first manager of the expansion Colorado Rockies yesterday, and perhaps his patience was one of the attributes that got him the job.

For several years, Baylor hungered for a major league managerial job. He was upset, but remained patient in the face of his failure to get one.

In signing Baylor to a three-year contract yesterday, General Manager Bob Gebhard of the Rockies said he was looking for "a patient man to deal with our young players and be a teacher."

Fay Vincent, who during his three years as commissioner pushed clubs to increase their hiring of members of minorities, recalled his talks with Baylor last year.

"I can remember telling him when he was down that his time would come," Vincent said yesterday. "He was very patient. I admire him for sticking to it. It's a wonderful development. I'm happiest for Don and Becky, and I'm delighted for baseball."

Baylor, 43 years old, is the fourth member of a minority group who will manage in the majors in 1993. The others are Cito Gaston of Toronto, Hal McRae of Kansas City and Felipe Alou of Montreal. The majors have never had that many members of minority groups managing at the same time.

"I think it's great," said Frank Robinson, baseball's first black manager. "I personally congratulate Don. I'm very proud of him for realizing what he wanted and for being willing to go out and work for it."

Bill White, president of the National League, was also pleased with the Rockies' selection.

"I am gratified one of the National League expansion teams, through an extensive interview process, has chosen a man who has demonstrated strength, leadership, knowledge of the game and all the other qualities we talk about when we discuss hiring managers," White said. Expansion Doesn't Equal Loser

What also attracted Gebhard to Baylor was his philosophy that expansion teams don't necessarily have to be losers.

"I don't know who wrote that rule that you have to lose 100 games if you're an expansion team," Baylor said at a news conference in Denver. "We're going to change the thinking of being an expansion team."

Baylor said he had never despaired of becoming a manager and said his race had nothing to do with either failing to win other jobs or winning this one.

"I never got into the race part," he explained. "I tried to be honest with people and was hopeful I'd get one of those jobs. The Colorado Rockies' job is more than I could have bargained for.

"It was new, this was a chance to set my own benchmark, to see what I could create. Other organizations already had their traditions. Now we can set our own mark here in the Rockies." 17-Year Playing Career

Baylor, who played for six teams, ended his 17-year playing career after the 1988 season, the third straight one in which he played on a different World Series team. He was the Milwaukee Brewers' hitting coach in 1989-90 and served in that capacity this year for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Joe Torre, the man who beat him out for the Cardinals' managing job in 1990, hired him last winter after Baylor failed to get either of the two jobs he was interviewed for. The Seattle Mariners hired Bill Plummer as their manager and the Brewers named Phil Garner.

Some people had told Baylor he should gain managing experience in the minor leagues, but he pointed to such managers as Pete Rose and Lou Piniella, who were hired for major league managing jobs without having managed anywhere else. Garner became another example this year when he went to the Brewers from being a major league coach and directed them to a successful season.

Plummer, who managed in the minors for seven seasons, has already been fired as the Mariners' manager. Chosen Over Virdon for Job

In gaining the Rockies' appointment, Baylor won out over Bill Virdon, a former major league manager, who had also been a finalist for the job with the expansion Florida Marlins; Tom Trebelhorn, who managed the Brewers before Garner, and Tony Muser, who managed the Denver Zephyrs of the American Associaton, a Brewers minor league team.

Rene Lachemann was named manager of the Marlins. The Texas Rangers named Kevin Kennedy their new manager Monday. The Mariners and the Reds still have vacancies.

Robinson, who managed in Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore, was asked if he thought the time would come when the number of minority-group members managing in the majors would no longer have to be counted.

"I think it will always matter," he said, then added, "We're taking steps now, getting to the point where it will not draw a lot of attention all the time or be a big deal. The circumstances are changing."

Photo: Don Baylor as his appointment to manage the Rockies was announced. (Associated Press)